Lesson 3.6.1.4

3.6.1.4 Forced vibrations and resonance Quiz: AQA Physics, Unit 6

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 3.6.1.4, Forced vibrations and resonance: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Physics (7408), Unit 6: Further mechanics and thermal physics (A-level only), written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. The frequency at which an oscillator vibrates when displaced and released without a driving force is its:

    • damping frequency
    • resonant period
    • natural frequency
    • driving frequency

  2. What causes forced vibrations in an oscillating system?

    • Initial displacement only
    • Zero external forces
    • Total internal friction
    • Periodic driving force

  3. At what frequency does maximum amplitude occur during forced oscillations?

    • Double natural frequency
    • Zero frequency
    • Natural frequency
    • Half natural frequency

  4. Light damping makes the resonance peak:

    • unchanged in shape
    • eliminated entirely
    • broader and lower
    • sharper and higher

  5. How does increasing damping affect the resonance peak on an amplitude-frequency graph?

    • Taller and narrower
    • Flatter and narrower
    • Flatter and broader
    • Taller and broader

  6. A swing pushed at the right rhythm builds up a large amplitude. This is an example of:

    • resonance
    • damping
    • free oscillation
    • superposition

  7. What is the phase difference between driver and oscillator well below resonant frequency?

    • π radians
    • π/2 radians
    • Zero radians
    • 2π radians

  8. A lightly damped system has its natural frequency at 2.0 Hz. At which driving frequency is its amplitude largest?

    • 1.0 Hz
    • 4.0 Hz
    • 2.0 Hz
    • 0.5 Hz

  9. What phenomenon causes a washing machine to vibrate violently at a specific spin speed?

    • Damping
    • Critical damping
    • Resonance
    • Free oscillation

  10. Why do stationary waves form on a string driven at specific frequencies?

    • Diffraction occurs
    • Refraction occurs
    • Resonance occurs
    • Overdamping occurs

  11. What effect does increased damping have on the amplitude of an oscillator at resonance?

    • Decreases amplitude
    • Has no effect
    • Increases amplitude
    • Causes infinite amplitude

  12. At resonance in a driven, lightly damped oscillator, the phase difference between the driving force and the displacement is:

    • 0 degrees
    • 45 degrees
    • 180 degrees
    • 90 degrees

  13. What limits the maximum amplitude of a system driven at its natural frequency?

    • Spring mass
    • Damping present
    • Driving frequency
    • Gravitational field strength

  14. At steady state, what frequency does a forced oscillator vibrate at?

    • Natural frequency
    • Driving frequency
    • Sum of frequencies
    • Zero frequency

  15. A system oscillates at its natural frequency when set in motion and released without any driving force. This is called:

    • resonant oscillation
    • forced oscillation
    • free oscillation
    • driven oscillation

  16. What is the approximate natural frequency of a lightly damped system with a resonant frequency of 3.0 Hz?

    • 3.0 Hz
    • 6.0 Hz
    • 1.5 Hz
    • 0.0 Hz

  17. A system with natural frequency 5.0 Hz is driven at 2.5 Hz. How does its amplitude compare to resonance?

    • Double
    • Exactly equal
    • Much larger
    • Much smaller

  18. How does increasing the damping on an oscillator affect its resonant frequency?

    • Doubles it
    • Increases it slightly
    • Decreases it slightly
    • Increases it significantly

  19. What change causes the resonance peak of a driven system to become narrower?

    • Increasing damping
    • Decreasing damping
    • Decreasing mass
    • Increasing driving force

  20. Adding mass to a driven mass-spring system, with the same spring, changes its natural frequency so that the resonant frequency:

    • increases
    • decreases
    • doubles
    • is unchanged

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